Here’s this Week’s Weird and Wonderful—May 1, 2026
We’re bringing you this week’s post with an important caveat: it’s very heavy on the weird (that’s good news). Of the 1,100 auctions live on the site this week, the collection below included many that were so irresistibly strange that we had to show them off, even at the expense of things like a FABCAR Porsche 935 and a BOSS 429-powered Pantera. That’s just a taste of the goodness that awaits you over on our Live Auctions page. But before you head there, have a look at the superlatively odd batch of vehicles that make up this edition of the Weekly Weird and Wonderful!
Stroppe-Modified, 331-Powered 1969 Ford Bronco NORRA Mexican 1000 Race Truck
If you are in the market for a Baja Bronco, it would be hard to do better than a desert-tested version from Andrew Norton of Baja Broncos Unlimited (@Bajabronco on BaT). This rig has Stroppe provenance—it wasn’t sold new as Baja Bronco, but it was converted by Stroppe in the 1970s with race-trim axles, axle trusses, 4.88 gearing, a roll cage, power steering, and a C-4 automatic transmission. Its more recent history is just as significant; after a two-year restoration at Baja Broncos, it competed in no less than eight runnings of the NORRA Mexican 1000, with seven podium finishes. @Todd_Z. sent periodic dispatches when he piloted the Bronco in the event in 2017—a great use of free will if we’ve ever heard one. Is this the coolest truck we’ve ever featured on BaT? It might be. We really, really want to jump it.
A rotary engine might be the only thing capable of making a 1970s Citröen even weirder. In the late 1960s, amid a great surge of rotary enthusiasm, Citröen teamed up with rotary pioneer NSU to form Comotor and co-develop their own rotary engine. The honeymoon was cut short when NSU’s Ro 80 became hamstrung with reliability issues, so Citröen execs marched forward, cigarettes dangling, and completed their production car: the GS Birotor. Just 847 units were produced in three years, and with oil crisis and warranty concerns looming, they decided to pull the plug. Few are left today because of the automaker’s efforts to buy back their own cars. Some diehard enthusiasts kept a tight grip on their cars despite the hardships, and this example found refuge with UK marque specialist Andrew Brodie in the 1980s. This GS Birotor still resides in Britain, ready for its newest caretaker.
F 1976 Mazda Cosmo CD Fastback 13B 5-Speed
We’re certainly on a rotary run this week, or at the very least (given its epitrochoidal motion) an orbit. The second-generation Cosmo was known as the Series CD, and was first introduced to Japan in the mid-1970s as the Cosmo AP (Anti-Polluter). It was sold internationally as the Mazda RX-5. Here, it was known as the Cosmo CD, and this particular 13B-powered fastback hails from the model’s first year in the States. Although this may be the first Cosmo CD we’ve featured on the site, longtime enthusiasts are showing up in force in the comments—sometimes, an audience appears out of nowhere on BaT, and we love to see it.
1950 Crosley Skorpion Roadster
Ralph Roberts and Jack Wills had the idea to create a bare-bones, DIY sports car, and this example was their prototype. Their fiberglass body cost $445 new and was made to be mounted over a shortened Crosley chassis with a dropped center section. Floorboards were to be cut from 3/8″ plywood sourced from the buyer’s local lumber yard, inner fenders and an interior driveshaft cover were available at extra charge, and the seats were whatever an owner could scrounge from their patio or local junkyard. The concept got the motoring press very excited at the time, and there’s a great period Motor Trend article included in the gallery. Even cooler, Jack Wills repurchased and refurbished the car in the early 1990s.
Despite the excitement the car created when it was introduced, only 28 were made. If you’re curious as to why this stubby bathtub was named after a leggy insect with a long tail boom, just take a look at it with the body panels opened up. See it now? Sorta?
If the Skorpion wasn’t weird enough for you, check out the Taylor-Dunn Trident R. The “R” here is definitely not for “racing.” Instead, it stands for “road,” which in truth seems nearly as optimistic. The Trident R was a first created as the Model PG golf cart, and somehow got certified for road use—a fact that appears to have surprised even the vehicle itself. We’re willing to bet that this was the last road car built with tiller steering, but don’t quote us on that. If you now find yourself wanting a Trident but are not sure of what that might entail, don’t worry—you have a Taylor-Dunn marque expert in @leepear, and we’re sure he could clue you in.
Fiberglass took the automotive world by storm in the 1950s, and hot rodders and racers alike quickly latched on to the new material. Bill Woodhouse of Hertfordshire, England, figured he could make a more sorted fiberglass racer than other small-time builders and formed his own company: Tornado. The first model to roll out of the workshop was the Tornado Typhoon, which was offered as either a kit or a completed car. Only 400 examples were ever produced, and this one is being sold as a project.
This prewar Tatra seems like it was constructed for the sole purpose of bucking every known convention of automobile manufacturing at the time. While the air-cooled four-cylinder would later become commonplace thanks to the Beetle from VW (Tatra’s nemesis), it wasn’t so much a thing back in 1936. The hood and front fenders were a one-piece assembly that, when raised, exposed the diminutive mill and everything else back to the firewall. Oh, and the engine was mounted under the front transverse leaf spring, just for fun (and probably weight distribution and packaging).
It had four-wheel independent suspension, two shift levers (one to engage and disengage a freewheel), and a window framing mechanism, shown in the video above, that is one of the strangest we’ve ever seen.
38k-Mile 1959 Pontiac Bonneville Custom Safari and 455-Powered 1957 Oldsmobile Golden Rocket 88 Fiesta Wagon
These two finned wagons hail from the era of Jet Age enthusiasm. The Pontiac ethos in 1959 said that wider was better—this was first year of their Wide-Track era, immortalized by Fitz and Van in advertising artwork that made it look like you could fit the whole neighborhood across the front bench. The Bonneville Safari wagon sat at the top of Pontiac’s lineup, and accommodated six passengers in luxurious comfort. This 389-powered wagon has survived the decades and continues to ooze mid-century optimism, complete with features branded with futuristic neologisms: a Wonder Touch “Super Deluxe” radio, power steering, and brakes as well as E-Z-Eye glass and a Circ-L-Aire defroster!
This Olds Golden Rocket 88 Fiesta left the factory as an entry-level wagon, but can party a little harder nowadays, nearly 70 years later. A 455ci V8 now powers this longroof, which was refurbished and modified before the current owner’s acquisition. It’s back for a second lap around these parts, and it’s offered by BaT Local Partner @CompassRacing.
“41 Bat” Custom 1983 Buick Riviera Coupe by Bill Hines
The late Bill Hines, aka “Leadslinger,” was one of the best to ever do it. And while a malaise-era Buick isn’t typically the platform of choice for a wild kustom, Hines was a man who “did whatever he wanted to do,” as his grandson put it in the comments. He started modifying cars in 1943, went on to work for George Barris, and was one of the first to incorporate hydraulic pumps into the suspension of his creations, drawing a straight line between the SoCal kustom scene and the lowrider culture that later emerged.
Many of his creations were called “Bat,” making this website the natural place to offer the car. For its creation, he grafted the roof and rear bodywork of a ’41 Buick (incidentally, the same model as the first car he ever customized) onto the ’83, then went at it with the hammers and dollies until a final shape emerged, replete with his trademark fins and sidepipes. There aren’t many opportunities to own a Hines-built kustom, and this one has been in the family since it was created. The Autoweek story linked in the listing provides a nice overview of his life and career. Give it a read and then come back with newfound appreciation for this hand-crafted piece of crazy.
LaBoa-Bodied H-Mod Special Project w/Kiekhaefer Mercury 650 Two-Stroke
In automotive history, Carl Kiekhafer is best known for upending NASCAR racing in the mid-1950s, when he arrived down South with his gleaming white fleet of Chrysler C-300s and proceeded to win 52 races and two Grand National championships. But his real claim to fame is as the founder of Mercury Marine, and two-stroke outboards were his stock-in-trade. Rarely did those motors end up driving anything with wheels, but this H-Mod racer is an exception. It is a tube-frame car that was known as the Vince Murray Mercury Outboard Special and first hit the track in 1965. It received a fiberglass LaBoa body after crashing at Mosport in 1970, and is said to weigh around 600 lb.
Honorable Mentions:
1970s Drivotrainer Drivers’ Education Simulator
Every Driver’s Ed class has that one kid who should under no circumstances be allowed behind the wheel of a motor vehicle. Back in the ’70s, the Drivotrainer helped instructors weed them out without endangering the local townsfolk.
Twin-Turbocharged 7.0L Hemi–Powered 1972 Plymouth Barracuda “Hellfish” 6-Speed by Roadster Shop
A name like “Hellfish” is intended to both intimidate and amuse. This heavily modified 1972 Barracuda was built by Roadster Shop with a twin-turbocharged 7.0-liter Hemi lump that produces hypercar levels of horsepower (1,241 stomping ponies, to be exact). Its creator, Larry Nguyen, told Hot Rod magazine: “I wanted a car that scares me, and this car definitely meets that requirement.” We’ll leave you with this driving video from BaT Local Partner @911r so you can experience the sensation for yourself.
Tony Quiroga’s 35k-Mile 1991 BMW 325i Convertible 5-Speed and No Reserve: Keith Martin’s 1975 Porsche 911S Coupe Sportomatic
This E30 325i convertible is brought to us by Tony Quiroga, aka TQ, aka the Editor-in-Chief of Car and Driver (a property of Hearst Media, like Bring a Trailer). The E30 stars aligned when he purchased this car from its original owner in 2019, and since then TQ has tastefully added 15″ Ronal LS wheels, H&R springs, and Bilstein B6 performance dampers.
BaT seller @911r is representing this 911S coupe on behalf of its current owner, Keith Martin, publisher of Sports Car Market. Martin purchased the car in 2022 and after performing some key mechanical work, it’s time for it to head to a new home.
There may be commenters in this listing saying, for the umpteenth time over the years, that BaT has “jumped the shark.” But if we were going to do that, we’d opt for a 1970s MasterCraft ski boat like the one that launched the Fonz. We get why a seven-figure pleasure yacht might bring out the pitchforks (tritons?), but a) it’s interesting, b) it’s motorized (to the tune of 3,100 horsepower!), and c) we haven’t had one on BaT before—in our opinion, that makes it 100% worthy. Plus, we all get to learn a little bit about international registration and tax strategies…
Thanks for checking out this edition of the Weekly Weird & Wonderful! Follow this page to get updates when new installments post, and tell what caught your eye or what you think we’ve left out!
